Every year on 6 December, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, the women who lost their lives in the massacre are remembered. While flags are flown at half-mast, vigils, conferences and demonstrations are held in remembrance. Despite these efforts, assigning meaning to the shooting has stirred controversy — and continues to do so.

Prime Minister Lester Pearson and John Matheson, one of his Liberal MPs, are widely considered the fathers of the Canadian flag. Their names will be front and centre in 2015 during the tributes and celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the flag's creation.

One of the most intriguing artifacts once on loan to the Canadian War Museum was a white handkerchief. Frayed and dirty, it had been hoisted on a rifle by Boer commandos surrendering to the troops of the Royal Canadian Regiment — one of whom considered the rag a worthy battlefield keepsake.

The context in which this famous Canadian portrait was created, as well as its meanings, was a dramatic departure from Western oil portraiture: the sitter was an enslaved Black woman and the painter was most likely her owner.

The decorative arts, it is commonly assumed, have two features that are at odds with what we think of as fine art: decorative art is typically associated with function and its purpose is to project a style or mood rather than to transmit meaning and incite dialogue.

This version of The Canadian Encyclopedia, released in enhanced digital interactive form in October 2013, represents the latest incarnation of a project with a unique history. Since the first edition arrived in 1985, Canadians have held a claim few others can make: we have our own national encyclopedia. The idea of covering all branches of knowledge or aspects of a subject in one body of work dates back to 1728 in England. However, a bilingual national edition produced by, for and about the people of a single country, charting its events, culture, history and landscape, remains rare.